Matter of Time

Outlining the Order of Time Periods in Marianas Archaeology and Ancient History

By Dr. Mike Carson, Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam.

Abstract

Any study of archaeology and ancient history needs to begin with a basic chronological order of time periods, and a suitable outline for the Mariana Islands involves several such time periods over the last few millennia. In terms of the archaeological evidence, these periods cover the entire sequence of cultural history, from the first instance of people living in the islands and continuing all the way through the timing of written history. With the use of written historical documents, the later time periods have been much more refined, for example in windows of a few decades or even single years. The more ancient periods of archaeological evidence, however, can be defined only within the limits of radiocarbon dating and other surviving material evidence, often in blocks of some centuries. How are those time periods identified? How are the dates measured? What was different from one time period to the next? These questions are addressed in the current presentation.